There are readers who will absolutely love this book, I am unfortunately not one of them.

I believe this book is best suited to folks who adore the genre AND have experience with the author or similar texts. The book is well written, but it definitely asks you to come in fully prepared to immerse yourself in a world that is detailed down to its breath.

I think this book may require a reread if you are not familiar with the genre so that all the information does not feel 100% new.

I tend toward Vandermeer when he's writing science fiction, and I tend to not like fantasy as much now that I'm an adult, so this book slotted into two negative categories before it ever got moving. Convoluted and mystical, and kind of sloppy and slow. Not my favorite Vandermeer.

https://bookandfilmglobe.com/fiction/book-review-vennis-underground-rerelease/

Jeff VanderMeer is the “King of Weird Fiction,” so the April 2023 re-release of his first novel Veniss Underground this April is a weird fiction event. But, on the 20th anniversary of its debut, the republication is strangely timely, coming as it does in the months after ChatGPT revolutionized public AI.

VanderMeer is not the “king” because he’s the weirdest, rather because he is the best at bringing “weird” to the masses.

What an interesting and grotesquely beautiful book, painted in vivid shades of despair! I picked Veniss Underground up on a recommendation, and am very glad that I did.

I read this book for the first time about fifteen years ago, after devouring CITY OF SAINTS AND MADMEN. It was such a pleasure to come back to it now, to see how so many of the things that Jeff has continued to explore in his wild and woolly career are already present -- and also to see how he's grown. This book is terrific, but you can feel him working things out still, and it's a real joy for readers to get the chance to see Veniss and where some of Jeff's oddities started (or at least, an earlier iteration of them). Thanks, MCD, for the flashy new edition too.

Thank you, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, MCD, for allowing me to read Veniss Underground early!

This reissue of VanderMeer's first novel has a very mesmerizing cover and that is why I requested this title. The inside, on the other hand, wasn't as beautiful, but still a solid book.

An interesting story full of twists, turns, fun characters and overall a book I would consider reading time and time again.